TRANSLIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY CENTER

[Published in Culver City News July 1, 2010 and in Blue Pacific News July 2, 2010]

Gotz not afraid to accentuate the negative

By Sandra Coopersmith

Michael Gotz could be described as negatively positive.  And no, that’s not an oxymoron.

In this age of digital just-about-everything, Gotz assured himself a unique niche in the traditional photography community by jumping in to buy and save the last major color/black and white film darkroom rental lab in the Los Angeles County area in December 2008, a week before it was scheduled to shut down.

For Gotz, who has resided in Culver City for over 30 years with his wife, Rosalie -- the director of the Culver City Senior Center prior to her retirement -- the decision to acquire Translight Colors, which he renamed Translight Photography Center, was not motivated by profit.

 “In fact, I have lost money,” Gotz said, “but the alternative was to leave Los Angeles-area film photographers who have no personal darkroom almost totally in the lurch.  I couldn't bear to see that happen.  If I had not done so, the whole region would have been without this resource that allows traditional photographers to create beautiful fine art photographs completely on their own with no lab assistance.”

So what chain of events led Gotz, an academic and then a hazardous materials transport specialist for 25 years, to buy a darkroom rental lab?

 “I had long felt that I had no engagement in art in my life other than looking at that done by others,” Gotz said.  Deciding to get a serious hobby as he approached retirement age, in 2004 he took two consecutive photography classes through UCLA Extension --  Introduction to Photography and Darkroom Printing. 

“I wanted to do fine art, not commercial, so I decided to stick to traditional photography, which involves the use of film, where photos are printed using darkroom chemistry,” Gotz explained. 

Digital technology produces an image that is maintained not on a piece of film but on a computer chip.  But traditional photography involves shooting with film, developing the negatives, and then printing the actual photos from negatives using an enlarger and photographic chemicals.  This is done in a room where the only light is from a "safelight," which means the light does not accidentally expose the light-sensitive paper. 

At that time there were a number of darkroom rental venues from which to choose, but over the next couple of years all but two closed down.  One was very small and didn’t offer color printing.  The other, Translight Colors as it was called then, was located adjacent to downtown Los Angeles at The Brewery, the world’s largest live/work art colony.  It was “large, clean, neat, and user friendly,” according to Gotz, and he began going there. 

In December of 2008 he was told that the owner was going to shut it down, leaving only the very small one and no public color printing darkroom rental service.  “I saw photographers at Translight doing great work, showing in galleries and art shows,” Gotz said, “and I couldn't bear the thought that they would be thrown out onto the street.”  He was hooked, and what had started out as a hobby turned into a mission.  “I was 64 years old, had some money in the bank, and most importantly had a consulting job that allowed me a lot of free time,” Gotz said, “so I felt ‘called’ to buy the place so it wouldn't close.  I changed the name to Translight Photography Center because we also offer digital services.  We have a Mac computer that is profiled to a very large inkjet printer, meaning that what you see on the computer screen comes out just the same on the paper.  We also have a film scanner so negatives can be digitized.

”The person who actually runs the business is a photographer named Christine Caldwell, a graduate of the Art Center, a world-famous school in Pasadena. She is also the winner of a number of photography awards.  I am proud that she manages the business from top to bottom, as she has done continuously for many years prior to my purchase.”
 
Through his heavy involvement in the photography darkroom rental business, Gotz has learned that “it is financially burdensome for local college and university photography students, a great many from the so-called ‘inner city,’ to afford the resources necessary to conduct their art.  These resources include archival photo paper, film, film processing, darkroom rental time, digital printing fees for archival inkjet and lightjet prints, and cameras and accessories.”

Topping his wish list is his desire to find some patrons who would be interested in funding a scholarship program for current and recently graduated students.  This would involve a voucher system so that the students would receive coupons good for the purchase of any of the resources required. The merchants would exchange the coupons for cash from the scholarship fund.

“This would accomplish many things,” Gotz said. “The most obvious, of course, is to provide financial assistance to students embarking on a career in commercial or fine art photography.  Secondly, it would aid the overall photography community by integrating students into the general photography consumer population.”

In addition to establishing a scholarship program, Gotz wants to enable emerging artists to print and show their work.   “This can be accomplished through sponsoring photography shows, which is our next step,” he said.  He emphasized that “the art world is in deep recession.  People like me have stepped forward to keep it going, but it is very financially difficult.  We need patronage if we are to continue to produce work in times of hardship.  While it is true that nearly all areas of society are hurting this way, right now I am concentrating on the photographic arts.  I would like community members to help us to help others.”

Although he hasn’t reaped financial gains from stepping up to the plate two Decembers ago, Gotz feels as rewarded as a rookie hitting a home run at the bottom of the ninth. “Having never been involved in the art community before, I have been overwhelmed by the personal support I have been given by the photographers whom I meet,” Gotz said.  “They have thanked me for saving the darkroom, and I feel humbly grateful that I was able to do it.”

For further information about Translight Photography Center, including workshops and classes offered, visit translightcolors.com or call (323) 222-8978.